Certification Maintenance for Paddle Canada Instructor Trainers

January 1, 2015

If you are an instructor who is not an instructor-trainer, then your maintenance requirements can be found here.

Maintaining Instructor-Trainer Certification

Instructor-trainers (ITs) represent the pinnacle of instruction certification in Canada. Paddle Canada knows it is critical for ITs to remain active and current, as it is their knowledge, skills and experience that is passed down to instructors, and from there to paddlers.

As leaders in the paddling community, ITs have additional responsibilities to the paddling community and Paddle Canada. These include meaningful contribution to the growth and development of the program and to their local paddling community as well as development of instructors and other instructor-trainers.

Maintaining IT certification allows the IT to offer Paddle Canada–sanctioned skill and instructor courses and to use the Paddle Canada name and logo, per the Paddle Canada Logo & Trademark Policy.

Maintaining an IT’s highest certification in one discipline (canoe, river kayak, sea kayak or stand up paddleboard) automatically maintains all certifications prerequisite to it. For example, maintaining River 2 SUP instructor-trainer certification also maintains the Advanced Flatwater SUP instructor-trainer certification because that is a prerequisite. It does not maintain Surf 1 SUP instructor-trainer certification because that is not a prerequisite. Certifications that are not related by prerequisites need to be maintained independently. In all cases, certification maintenance activities must be prerequisite-related to the certification being maintained.

The IT certification period expires on December 31st of the fourth year from the date of certification, provided the annual requirements are met as outlined below.

Annual Requirements

Maintain annual membership in Paddle Canada and the provincial/territorial affiliate association, where one exists.

Annually submit to the Paddle Canada office acceptance of the terms of the Paddle Canada Instructor-Trainer Commitment document.

Attend an annual IT meeting in person or via teleconference for each applicable discipline (canoe, river kayak, sea kayak or stand up paddleboard).

Certification Renewal Requirements

The IT has until December 31st of the fourth year following certification, or certification renewal, to complete the following:

Teach or assist on a Paddle Canada instructor course at their highest level of certification. Paddle Canada reserves the right to adjust the level of certification to the highest level taught during that four-year certification period.

Complete two of the professional commitment options below. Instructor-trainers can complete two different options, or the same option twice provided they are distinct. Paddle Canada reserves the right to change the IT status to inactive or retired if professional commitment options are not undertaken during each four-year certification period.

Option 1: Mentor an apprentice IT in an applicable stream linked by prerequisites. The IT may charge a fee to the apprentice for this valuable educational experience.

Option 2: Organize or instruct one of an appropriate certification maintenance clinic in the applicable stream, an appropriate Paddle Canada event, or an appropriate instructor training day.

Provided the annual requirements continue to be met, the certification period of four years is automatically renewed whenever the IT successfully completes a higher-level instructor-trainer apprenticeship in the applicable stream linked by prerequisites, or whenever all of the above certification renewal requirements are achieved. Maintaining IT certification automatically maintains related instructor certifications.

Lapsed Status

Instructor-trainers who do not maintain the annual requirements will automatically have their IT certification status changed to lapsed.

To regain active certification, the lapsed instructor-trainer who is in their first year of default must complete the annual requirements. The lapsed instructor-trainer who is beyond one year of default must complete the annual requirements and pay the lapsed-instructor surcharge.

Inactive Status

If the instructor-trainer does not teach any registered instructor courses during the four-year certification period and/or does not complete at least two professional commitment options listed in the Certification Renewal Requirements section, then the instructor-trainer’s certification status is changed to inactive.

An inactive instructor-trainer must be a current instructor member of Paddle Canada before the reactivation process is started.

To regain active certification, the inactive IT must audit and be assessed on at least one full instructor course taught by a qualified IT. The reactivation will be at a level not higher than that of the registered course.

An inactive IT auditing a course must be listed on the course registration and course report but they do not count as part of the instructor to student ratio.

Retired Status

After two years of holding an inactive certification, that is a total of six years since their previous certification or certification renewal, the IT’s certification status will be changed to retired.

To regain active certification, the retired IT must undertake the normal provisions of an IT mentorship.

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Over 3,000 Paddle Canada Instructors teach SUP, kayak and canoe courses to tens of thousands of people around the world every year. Becoming an instructor provides training, insurance, programs and certifications to grant, and credibility that you are a qualified paddling instructor.

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Since 1971, Paddle Canada has set national standards for instruction and certification for all major recreational paddling disciplines including Canoeing, Kayaking and Stand-up Paddleboarding. Learn more.